Münchener Christkindlmarkt

Münchener Christkindlmarkt Munich Reviews

In 1989 I was a student in Munich. I remember the Christmas Market well. This visit was a trip down memory lane. I started with a visit of "Alter Peter". I climbed the church tower to get a good view of Munich. The church is just one block from the Christmas market. To my surprise, the market was much smaller than what I remembered (hard to beat the one I have just been to in Vienna!).

Like most Christmas markets in Germany, you can get anything from food, drinks and sweets, to Christmas ornaments and gifts. A must try, is the German glühwein. There were also some different types of punch as well. The most typical food was the sausage, which came in several different types. As far as I could count, I believe I saw 9 different! Then there was the semlen, a round bread roll, with different fillings. I tried one with schnitzel and pickled cucumber. Quite nice! So what's for desert? Well, I couldn't stay away from the chocolate coved strawberries. Felt a bit cheated though. In stead of what I thought was a stick of 7 strawberries, they had put a grape in each end, so I only got 5 strawberries!!

The Christmas market was not only located in the square, Marien Platz, in front of the city hall. It stretches all the way along the pedestrian zone from Karl's platz to Marien platz. Half way down the pedestrian zone, in front of St Michaels church, there is a special Nativity scene market, where you can get all kinds of bits and pieces for your own Nativity scene. Also don't miss the little market inside the inner courtyard of the City Hall.

The Christmas market is a great place to people watch, as well as getting something to eat and drink. Maybe you even find a gift or two there! Even though the market has lost a little of its charm, and the vendors being more arrogant than they used to be, I can recommend a visit!

Between 26th November and 24th December it is open Monday-Saturday: 10:30 am - 9 pm and Sunday: 10:30 am - 8 pm.

WARNING! There are a lot of people at the Christmas market, so watch out for pick pocketing. Unfortunately it has become such a big problems, so the newspapers are warning people about it!